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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 7, 2013 - 12:48pm PT
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I thought that JT in 1938 might be an OK thing to post here on the old ST.
Photographer Edward Weston (1886-1958) met Charis Wilson (1914-2009) in 1934. The Googenheim Museum gave him $2,000 in 1938 (now know as a Googenheim Fellowship)--she must’ve been a great muse; it was the first they had ever given to any photographer--and he and Charis produced enough work in a year that the grant was duplicated the following year, so I guess he’d shown them what this relatively new medium might be capable of in terms of “real” art.
This book, California and the West (Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1940) is the result, featuring his photography and her writing. Judge them as you may; his work is the equal or better in some cases than Ansel Adams, his intimate, and Imogene Cunningham and her son (Rondal Partridge), and Dorothea Lange.
“I think Charis, she is a charming writer, myself.”--Mouse the sports writer
Reproduced here is the second chapter of that book, minus a few Dearth Valley shots. The entire book is worthwhile reading/looking.
This bit is from the chapter on Darth Valley, when they visit Dante’s View:
Edward was so shaky he could hardly set up his camera, and all that any of us could say for some time was “My God! It can’t be!” But other cars drove up and their occupants were vocal enough. When I had looked my fill, I listened.
Three women and a man got out of a car, walked to the railing, and looked over.
“Well, I never expected it to look like this!”
“You know, that name ‘Seth Valley’ sort of kills the place. Who’d want to go to a place with a name like that?”
The third woman turns back to the car and says, “Is this as high as Yellowstone was?” They all walked back to the car arguing about just how high Yellowstone was....
Zabriskie Point is a great favorite wwth snapshooters who dash up, snap, and dash away, faster than you can keep count. A man and wife drove up, climbed out of their car, and stared at the view. The man scrutinized Edward’s outfit and approached with, “If I took a picture of that stuff with my kodak, it would be flat, wouldn’t it?”
“Not much contrast out there now,” Edward allowed.
The woman speaks: “Come on, let’s go. I’ve had enough of Seth Valley. [Adding hastily] Of course, it’s beautiful...and interesting...but it’s...”
While she struggles for the word that will not come, the man asks if they can see Mt. Whitney from here. We say they’d have to go up to Dante’s View on a clear day to see it. As they start back to their car, the woman’s groping is rewarded. “It’s weird!” she calls back to us triumphantly....That’s what it is. It’s just plain weird.”
BONUS FOR THE ROAD TO TIOGA!
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Really love Weston's photos... did you know he used to make contact prints using a household
light bulb. Talk about the advantages of technology.
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Barbarian
climber
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Weston's daybooks are a great read. Deep insight into the muses and demons that drove him to create such fine photos.
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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got to have some Weston nudes...
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Srbphoto
climber
Kennewick wa
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A really nice book of his work is Weston's Westons
The reproductions are pretty good. Lot's desert stuff
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Magic Ed
Trad climber
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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Weston made portraits of my grandfather and my great-uncle when he was in Mexico City.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2013 - 05:47pm PT
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"I don't know if it's green or red, Madge, but it must be a Bell. It sure is...what's the word?"--overheard
We need more gnudes and gmoose. Keeps things weird.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 8, 2013 - 11:03pm PT
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Srbphoto, I did check that W's W's book at the Library, where it's under Lock and Key, which means the Stoddard Room, a collection on California, the West, and where they keep the older valubabble stuff. They are hoarders, NOT! Just conservators, and it's a great place to visit for the likes of me.
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Srbphoto
climber
Kennewick wa
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I guess I'm lucky, I just pull it off the book shelf :)
Weston is one of the few name photographers to photograph Nor Cal between I5 and the coast. Most stay along the coast (for good reason) but Weston has some beautiful stuff in that corridor.
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Alebion
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Ran into this fellow at The Wave this winter. He had purchased and restored this camera, which was Edward Weston's.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 9, 2013 - 01:00am PT
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Brett was along on the first trip they took. I'm glad you got the chance to hob-nob with the great ones, Locker. I'm "looking to hear" some more sometime.
Here are some photos I shot straight from the book. No nudes, though it was tempting...And some books I've read and some I've not read yet, all Library First Editions, locked away, marking valuable time.And one of the highlights of any visit to the County Free Library, Miss Sharonne.This sign is older than I am old.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 9, 2013 - 06:03am PT
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And I'm glad I woke up to read this. Thanks! Fkucker!
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 9, 2013 - 10:06am PT
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Wright photographed all sorts of Sierra Club outings for use in the Bulletin, especially. That is from where I really know him.
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Srbphoto
climber
Kennewick wa
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The truth :)
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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A man with a great eye and handy in the darkroom to get such a crushed black look. He shot a lot of stuff tight with a 50mm lens or the equivalent and liked the low angle shot as well. To nice effect.
JL
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 10, 2013 - 10:50am PT
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - May 10, 2013 - 11:06am PT
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All the above are from The Deepest Valley (Sierra Club, SF. 1962)
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2015 - 04:24am PT
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[Click to View YouTube Video]
After reading the book Ansel Adams: An Autobiography or most of it, last week, I have come back here to this thread, seeking comparison, probably a fool's gambit.
I've not even come close to choosing a favorite, but now, having viewed this 1948 film on Weston, I don't care if I ever make up my mind. Each man had his POV, his own definition of art, and his own preconceptions, experience, and eye.
I figure it's "Best" to just let it rest and accept both as masters, for who am I to judge such giants.
As to this film, the lady who accompanies Edward throughout is likely Charis Wilson, and the time frame fits in with their break from each other. He had likely begun it before 1948, just at the end of the war, just as they broke their long-running relationship, and because of his advancing Parkinson's disease, he may have had trouble editing it or getting it finalized.
This is surmise, of course, because I just found this video this morning, and comparison with the few photos of Charis' face online is not easy.
I may be rushing things. But then I'm no real scholar, just a fan of Weston and, also like him, an enthusiast of the "Hillbilly Miracle Box." I also found this other thread which was published prior to this one, where that apt description was used.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1635271&msg=1635271#msg1635271
I also looked at the Wikipedia discussion of Edward Weston and discovered he was an avid cat lover. The Cats of Wildcat Hill (1947) was a collaboration between him and Charis and is supposed to be an unusual book. I'll bet it is! Wildcat Hill is the haven at Carmel he and Charis shared in their time together. And just because he loved cats, I'll confess that I do, too, but it doesn't sway me in a decision between his and Adams' merit as artists and technicians.
Here Moosie...look at the birdie, please?
To Magic Ed--I'll have a look at some of Weston's Mexico prints if I can find some. Do you have specific names of your relatives? It may help speed that search.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jul 11, 2015 - 11:43pm PT
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hey there say, ... here's a great photography bump, from the mouse...
very nice artistic stuff here, for our weekend...
happy good eve... :)
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